Never Been Kissed
by damonsalvat0re
Summary: Elena Gilbert is finally given a chance at being a reporter, her dream job. Her job is to enroll into high school as a 17 year old, get a story, and get out. Falling for her English teacher, Damon Salvatore, was never part of the plan... AU/AH. (HIATUS)
1. Found You

**DISCLAIMER: I do _not_ own the Vampire Diaries (books or tv show) or the movie Never Been Kissed. I'm just a fan who wants to share some writing. ;)**

**Hey. This story is based off of the movie Never Been Kissed. Yes, I know Elena is OOC - _very _OOC in the beginning of the story, but by the end of the story she'll be the Elena we all (most of us) love. :) Also, Damon is a bit OOC too, but remember that he's also a teacher and doesn't have all the vampire-and-treated-like-shit-for-a-hundred-or-so- years angst. I'm trying my best to keep the characters in character while also playing the roles they serve in this story.  
**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Oh, one last thing: I went through and edited this because incorrect grammar annoys me to no end and it's unfair for you guys to read something that doesn't make sense, haha. **

_Such a pretty face_

_It warms my soul_

_And your sweet blue eyes_

_they shine like gold_

_- Found You, Ross Copperman_

_Prologue _

The excited audience only made my palms sweat more. The back of my neck itched but I stayed paralysed, holding my breath.

_3:27_

There's still plenty of time, I convinced myself.

_2:31_

The microphone in my hand shifted from one to another, creating fuzzy static to blare out the speakers.

_1:21_

I squeezed my eyes shut. This wasn't supposed to happen. I was supposed to enrol into high school as a 17 year old, get a story, and _get out._

But of course, luck was never one my side.

_0:13_

* * *

I sat down at the large conference table, my hands folded neatly on the wooden surface. My hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail, not a hair out of place. I looked professional. And _proud_.

I was 25, the youngest copy editor at _Mystic Falls News. _I felt the corners of my lips starting to turn upwards, showing a smile full of pride.

"Elena!" my best friend, Caroline Forbes, sang as she sat down next to me. The meeting doesn't start for another five minutes, but Caroline and I knew that. We always come in early for meetings so we can sit beside each other and pass notes. Normally, passing notes was a big "NO!" for me, but seeing as I never get asked _anything_ and the meeting _never_ has anything to do with me, I thought it was perfectly fine.

Plus Caroline gets impatient if I don't read her gossip filled notes.

"Hey Care," I responded, bringing my cup of green tea up to my lips and taking a sip.

"So you'll never believe what I did last night - or, actually, _who_ I did." A wicked gleam shined in her light blue eyes, a smug expression covering her pretty features.

"Let me guess," I said sarcastically, like I didn't know. "Tyler Lockwood."

Caroline let out a high pitch giggle. "Yes! Oh my gosh, he was absolutely fantas-"

I held up a hand. "Please, spare me the details."

Caroline pouted, playfully glaring at me. "Sorry, forgot, you've never even been _kissed_ before."

I quickly looked around the room, making sure no one heard, before letting my eyes rest on Caroline. "Shut up!" I hissed.

But she just rolled her eyes, lifting one of her shoulders slightly, as if saying, _Whoops_.

"How is everyone?" came a loud voice, hushing everyone's chatter. "Never mind, don't answer. I don't care."

Kol Mikaelson was the owner of _Mystic Falls News_, and frankly, not the nicest. He was 47 years old, rich, and just a jerk. Although I did have to respect him quite a bit - he was well known and knew what the residents of Mystic Falls wanted to read.

He walked around the table, hands locked behind his back, completely at ease. "You know, I was at a family reunion on the weekend."

A small snicker escaped from someone, and I whipped my head around to face them. Everyone, including me, was showing the new worker pity.

"Did you just laugh while I was _talking_?" boomed Kol Mikaelson, his hands unlocking from behind his back and crossing over his chest.

Trevor Smith stiffened, his eyes widening. "Er, I'm sor-"

"Out!" Kol Mikaelson pointed towards the door, his face showing no justice. "You're fired."

I flinched, and so did everyone else. Trevor grabbed his things and stumbled out the door. When the door closed everyone snapped their attention back to Kol Mikaelson, and Caroline quickly stopped writing a note, knowing today was not the day to trade gossip with me.

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," said Kol, starting his pacing again. "I was at a family reunion on the weekend." He paused, as if challenging anyone to let out a snicker like Trevor had done. When silence filled the room, he continued on. "And when I was there, I discovered something."

I held my breath as he passed me, keeping my back perfectly straight.

"My grandson is allergic to peanuts!"

I made eye contact with Caroline, our expressions mirroring each other.

_What the hell?_

"And that's when I realized, do we actually know ours kids? Our grandchildren? They're gone 6 or 7 hours a day at school, then out right afterwards. And I thought to myself, 'What do parents who read the _Mystic Falls News _want to know?'" He lifted a hand up, making a, _someone answer me_ gesture.

I slowly raised my hand. His eyes landed on me and my heart raced.

_Wrong answer and I'm out the door, just like Trevor._

"What…" I gulped, wiping my wet palms on my long grey skirt. "What their kids are doing most of the day…?"

He nodded sharply, his gaze never leaving me. "Exactly. Which is why you are going to enrol into high school and find that out, Elena Gilbert."

Me. Going undercover. Reporter.

I nodded quickly, nodded too long. Caroline squeezed my knee, congratulating me.

"And I want a story. A good one. If not…" Kol smirked, his eyes amused. "If not, you are fired. Meeting over."

* * *

"I'm going undercover Jer!" I squealed into my phone. "Me! A reporter undercover!"

"What are you going undercover as?" my brother asked. I could hear him struggling over the phone and knew he was at the Mystic Grill, working.

"A high school student!"

I heard something drop and Jeremy curse. "'Lena, that's great and all…. But do you remember what high school was like? And what they called you?"

I faltered. I wasn't exactly popular in high school. Hell, I was _the_ loser in high school. Frizzy hair, huge glasses, braces, baggy clothing. You name it.

And the name.

Insane Elaine.

It started when the most popular boy in school came up to me. His other friends were laughing, and I knew it was a prank, but the minute his blue eyes looked at me, I knew I didn't care.

His name was Matt Donovan, and I had only been planning our wedding since grade 3, when he moved into Mystic Falls.

His sloppy grin made my breath catch. He extended a hand, saying, "I'm Matt Donovan. You?"

It was grade 10. _Of course_ I knew who he was. He knew that. But I was awestruck, lost in his beauty.

"Elena Gilbert," I breathed out.

His eyebrows scrunched in confusion, which I found completely adorable. "Sorry? Elaine Hilbert?"

I shook my head, but before I could say anything, Jeremy, my younger, _popular_ brother came up to us. "I like to call her Insane Elaine," he said, grinning.

Obviously, he was joking, and I shoved him playfully, but before I could object, Matt was walking off, laughing and telling his friends.

_Insane Elaine. That's who I was known as from then on._

"Insane Elaine," I mumbled breathlessly, my heart racing for a whole other reason now.

"I know," Jeremy said sadly. "I was the one who made it up."

I ran to my bathroom, pressed speaker on the phone, and turned on the sink, spraying cold water all over my face. "I can't do this," I whispered, staring at my reflection.

Or, actually, my grade 10 self stared back, haunting me.

"Yes, you can!" Jeremy insisted. "I just want you to remember that it _won't_ be easy."

I nodded, though I knew he couldn't see. "Right," I said, my voice cracking. I cleared my throat, then saying louder, and in a stronger voice, "_Right_."

* * *

It was Monday morning, first day of school. I had woken up at 5:30, and did everything Caroline had instructed me to do.

Before I left, though, I stared down at the checklist.

Curl ends of hair to create soft look? (Check - though research on curler burns!)

Apply makeup? (Check, though with some difficulty - remind Caroline to give me another lesson.)

Wear Caroline approved clothes that she picked out? (Yes - well, sort of. Added some accessories of my own on!)

Brushed teeth? (Uh, yes. And flossed.)

Perfume? (Hope no one else chokes on the scent like I did! Strong stuff!)

Check school bag? (Not sure why I have two extra pairs of jeans, though I'll trust Caroline that I need it.)

I felt like another person as I shoved the checklist into my backpack, heading out to my car. When I slammed my car door shut, my fluffy white scarf got caught.

"Shit," I muttered, tugging on it. The sound of ripping froze me, though, and I slowly looked down at my scarf.

And _loved _it.

The jagged edge gave the scarf character. It made it unique.

When I arrived at the high school, Mystic Falls High, I pushed every bad memory away.

I wasn't "Elaine Insane", the biggest loser of the school.

I wasn't Elena Gilbert, youngest Copyeditor at _Mystic Falls News_.

No, I was Elena - er, last name? I quickly pulled out my fake ID I had my friend, Alaric Saltzman, make for me. Holt.

Elena Holt.

I like it.

I opened my car door confidently, my eyes only glancing at the small scrap of scarf that fell free from the door for a second before lifting my head high.

I readjusted my neon pink belt that I added to accessorize the outfit Caroline had picked out for me, my matching pair of sunglasses making me feel like a celebrity.

I walked to the front of the school, mistaking the odd looks I was getting for admiration.

So I smiled back.

After I got my schedule, I headed to my first class, English. Mystic Falls High was still the same from when I was younger. I wasn't great at acting, so I hoped the look of confusion covering my face looked real.

When I reached the English classroom, I saw that it was empty except for two other students sitting down. I sat down in the middle row, excitement taking over me.

_I'm undercover! I'm UNDERCOVER!_

In less then a minute the classroom was filled with students. I heard someone clear their throat and looked up.

The girl had dark hair, much like mine, except it was curled. Her dark brown eyes glared at me and her lip glossed mouth twisted in disgust. The girl beside her had a slender hand placed on her jutted hip, her long blonde hair twisted into some complicated up do.

"Yes?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. I may be 25, and they may be 17, but damn, they looked _intimidating._

"You're sitting in my spot," the dark hair girl said, like it was the most obvious thing ever.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't realize the seats were assigned." I stood up quickly, allowing the girl to sit down.

"They're not." She smirked up at me, showing flawless white teeth. Gulping, I looked around the room, looking for an empty spot. I darted towards the one in the front row beside a dark skinned girl.

"Just ignore them," the girl said to me with an eye roll. "They think they own this school."

"Who… who are they?"

"Katherine Pierce and Rebekah Michaels," the girl responded. "And I'm Bonnie Bennett."

I shook hands with her, grinning. "So where's the teacher? Mr… Salvatore?"

Bonnie pointed towards the man by the door. "There."

My eyebrows rose in surprise. _That's_ a teacher? Damn.

"His full name is Damon Salvatore," Bonnie whispered to me. "He's hot, I know."

I looked back at her. "Hot? That's an understatement. Since when do teacher's look like that?"

Bonnie giggled. "True."

Damon Salvatore walked to the center of the classroom, his blue eyes scanning the room while he ran a hand through his dark hair. "It seems like we're just missing one person today," he said, causing everyone to be quiet.

Just then someone opened the door. He had light brown hair and from what I could tell from where I sat, green eyes.

And he looked nothing like my high school crush Matt Donovan, but I couldn't help but think he _did_ look like Matt Donovan.

Sure, Matt had blonde hair with blue eyes and this guy has brown hair and green eyes, but there was something about them. They both shared the same confident, mysterious look that made girls go crazy whenever they glanced your way.

"So nice of you to join us, Stefan," Damon Salvatore said.

Stefan just grinned in reply before sitting down beside Katherine.

"That's Stefan Salvatore," Bonnie whispered to me.

"Salvatore?" I mouthed backed.

"They're cousins." After that, Bonnie turned around to face the front of the classroom.

"Elena Holt, welcome to Mystic Falls High," Damon Salvatore said, smiling. "I'm Mr. Salvatore, but just call me Damon."

I nodded, because that's the only thing I could manage to do.

Then Damon started the English lesson. I knew everything, of course. All the answers. Of course I did, I'm 25 and a writer.

Not 17.

But I had to admit, it was nice being 17 again.

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed reading my TVD version of Never Been Kissed. It's a nice, funny movie that I _definitely_ recommend. **


	2. The Middle

**So so SO sorry this is a late update! One week I was gone visiting my Dad, then the other week I was freaking out (still am) because my first day of high school is tomorrow. :P**

_It just takes some time,_

_little girl,_

_you're in the middle of the ride._

_the middle - jimmy eat world_

Finally, it was lunch time. The cafeteria was filled, loud chatter and laughter reminding me of my old high school days. But I quickly pushed those thoughts away and let confidence take over me as I walked over to get some food.

"Damn," I mumbled, looking at the cafeteria choices. Still the same as when I was younger. Sighing, I picked up my tray and managed to find some decent food.

What was harder, though, was finding decent people to sit with. Nearby were Katherine and Rebekah, and though we hadn't had a good start, I still walked over to them and set my tray on their table, hoping for a do over.

Rebekah looked up at me as I slid onto the bench, a thin eyebrow lifted in disgust.

"Hi!" I said brightly as I pulled out a notepad. _Might as well get some notes._

"And what are you doing here?" Katherine sneered, her arms folding across her chest.

"Well I know we didn't start off well but I was hoping I could ask you guys some quest- ah!" I had my arm positioned to write in my notepad, but my elbow hit my chocolate milk, drenching me. "Oh no," I groaned.

Katherine smirked. "Maybe that'll teach you to not where that awful scarf."

Ouch, I thought. That stung. I quickly got up, stopping the chocolate milk from spilling any more.

"Hey, you alright?" someone from behind me asked.

"Oh, um," I turned around, coming face to face with Stefan. "Uh… well, I… spilled some of my, er, chocolate milk and…" My face burned and I knew I had to stop mumbling so I just gestured lamely at my ruined outfit.

Stefan tilted his head to the side. "I… see."

Before I could mumble any more, I grabbed my bag and ran out of the cafeteria.

* * *

My next period had already started, but I didn't care. The washroom - completely empty except for me - allowed me to relax and calm myself. My chocolate milk stained clothes were in my bag and I had changed into the spare ones Caroline had packed for me. The white scarf I was sure would make me look cool was in the garbage, Katherine's mean remark lingering in my mind.

I pulled my phone out of my bag, dialling Caroline's number.

"Hello?" came Caroline's bubbly response.

"I messed up. Bad."

Instantly Caroline's voice changed. "Aw, Lena, c'mon."

"I spilled _chocolate milk_ all over my clothes in front of the most popular girls at school, then turned around to face the hottest gu- student. I messed up," I said glumly.

"Oh, hottest student. Does that mean there's a hotter teacher or what?" Caroline asked excitedly.

I rolled my eyes. "That doesn't matter, Caroline!"

She sighed. "Fine, fine. What do you want me to do?"

I shrugged, glancing around the bathroom. "I don't know… save me."

Caroline burst out laughing. "Sorry, hun. Can't do that. I gotta finish this article I'm working on."

I pouted. "Fine. Bye, Care."

After I hung up I walked over to the sink, splashing cold water all over my face. I didn't care that I was ruining my makeup. I reached over and grabbed some paper towel, drying my face.

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

I swear, my car was parked in this _exact _space. Except it wasn't. Nope. Just an empty parking space. Frustrated, I ran a hand through my hair, spinning around.

"They do it to all the new kids."

I whirled around again. Bonnie stood there with a small look of pity, holding a textbook in one arm.

"They as in?" I asked, suddenly feeling watched.

Bonnie nodded her head in the direction of the upper floor classroom windows, and I saw Katherine, Rebekah, Stefan, and other kids I didn't know smirking and laughing, high fives being exchanged.

"The popular people."

I tried covering the hurt on my face. "Oh… So then where is my car?"

Bonnie smiled. "Lets go to the Mystic Grill, then we can find your car when everyone has left."

I smiled back at her. "Sure."

Once we both got into her car, an awkward silence fell over the two of us. I had never been close with much people - in high school my only friend was someone _I_ felt bad for, and now my only actual friend besides family was Caroline. I opened my mouth multiple times to start a conversation, but each time I stopped, not knowing what to say.

Finally Bonnie broke the silence. "So where are you from?"

My back straightened and my eyes widened. "Er," I said, trying to buy time. "Um, Toronto," I finally answered, remembering Toronto being mentioned in the news last night. "Canada."

I looked over, hoping she bought it. Bonnie raised her eyebrows, still looking straight ahead. "Wow, Toronto. Are you liking the change?"

I felt a rush of relief and slumped back in my seat. "Yes, yes I am."

The car stopped and Bonnie smiled at me. "Come on, lets go. The Mystic Grill has the best food ever, trust me."

I followed Bonnie out of the car, agreeing with her silently in my head.

* * *

"Hi, my name is Jeremy and I'll be your - Elena?"

Crap. My attention, which was focused on Bonnie, turned to Jeremy, dressed in his work outfit.

"Hi Jer," I said, but my eyes said, "_Don't you _dare_ blow my cover!"_

Bonnie looked between us. "You two… know each other?"

I scratched my head. "Um, yeah. He's my brother."

"But I thought you just moved from Canada, and I've seen Jeremy a million times here," Bonnie said, confusion painted on her face.

"That's because I lived in Canada with my dad," I quickly explained, the lies coming to me just as I said them. "I just moved back here with Jeremy and our mom because my… my dad died."

Which wasn't a full lie. My dad was dead - it's just that he died 8 years ago, along with my mom. But the sadness in my voice _was_ real.

Bonnie's face softened automatically and she placed her hand on mine, her brown eyes looking at me sincerely. "Oh, Elena, I'm sorry."

I looked down, pretending I was about to cry, but I was secretly wondering if the special cakes were on sale.

Jeremy cleared his throat, ending that moment. "What can I get for you two?"

After we ordered (the special cakes _were_ being sold today! Woo!) and our menus were taken, Bonnie leaned onto the table.

"I can't believe Jeremy's your brother!" she whispered excitedly. "I've always secretly had a crush on him!"

I smiled awkwardly, shrugging.

"How old is he?"

"23." I watched her shoulders slump and her smile fall from her face.

"Okay, yeah, I assumed that." Bonnie smiled softly and I forced a smile back.

Time flew by quick after that. When I looked over at the old brown clock, it was no longer 3.

"Crap!" Bonnie's eyes widened as she followed my gaze. "It's 5! Elena, I'm so sorry, but I got to go, I have a meeting with the Denominators - this group I'm in."

"Oh, it's fine," I said, but I was wondering how I was going to find my car now.

"Hey… before I leave, how good are you at math?"

I shrugged, trying to fight the urge of saying, "Please, I got high 90s in _everything_ when I was in high school."

But instead I settled with, "Not bad."

Bonnie's grin grew. "How would you like to join the Denominators? We go out for pizza sometimes, we have competitions with other schools, we even have _sweaters_!"

I couldn't help it; suddenly I was so excited that I forgot about my car. "I would love to! But I can't go to the meeting tonight."

Bonnie frowned slightly. "Oh, why is that?"

"I'm meeting my friend Caroline tonight."

"Oh yes, you probably want to catch up with some of your old friends," Bonnie said, nodding.

At first I was confused. Then I remembered my lie and smiled awkwardly. "Um, yeah."

"Well, I should go. Bye!" Bonnie turned around and headed towards the exit.

"Wait!" I practically lunged at her, stopping her from leaving. "My car. You said you know where it is?"

Bonnie gasped, her hand covering her mouth, and I couldn't help but think she can be quite dramatic at times. "Your car, I'm so sorry! I wish I could help… It's most likely at the back of the school, hidden behind the trees."

Great. Hidden behind _trees_. "Thanks, Bonnie. Bye!"

* * *

_Hidden behind trees…_

Yeah, my car was _hidden behind trees_. I don't know how they got it there. I almost winced at how many scratches were on it. It took me forever to get it out - once I decided I couldn't crash through the fence, I had to just squish my car through the trees and bushes. My shirt had 3 holes in it now and leaves were tangled in with my now wrecked and sweaty hair.

_It's all happening again._

I'm still Insane Elaine. Nothing will change that. I'll never be popular. That crowd and I just won't ever get along.

_So maybe_, a little voice in the back of my head said, _you need to act like Elena Holt, 17 year old high school student._

That's what I was going to do. I was going to get home, shower, and discuss with Caroline new ways to make me not me. I couldn't be myself anymore at this high school - no, I had to be -

"Elena?"

No, not him, I begged, frozen in spot. My hand held my car keys, which was unlocking my car door, but now dropped to my side.

"Uh, Mr…. Mr. Salvatore," I stammered out, turning around and awkwardly waving a hand. "Hi."

His arms crossed his chest, amusement clear in those damn blue eyes of his. "Please, call me Damon."

I scratched my head, then remembered my keys were in my hand when they tangled in my hair. My face flamed a red as I yanked them out, bringing some hair out with it. I shoved my keys in my pocket, shielding his view from it.

"Right," I said after an uncomfortable silence. "Damon."

"So what are you doing here at 6 o'clock?" The amusement hadn't left his eyes - no, now it filled his voice too.

"Just, you know." I made a gesture with my hand, hoping he would just nod along and understand what I meant.

A smirk formed on Damon's lips. Why was he acting like this? He's a _teacher_. He shouldn't be making his students feel all flustered.

To change the direction of the conversation around, I asked, "What are you doing here?"

A small, almost mysterious smile replaced his smirk. "I was planning a pop quiz for tomorrow. Guess it's no surprise for you now though."

I forced a smile - I seemed to be forcing them a lot today. Then, to end the awkwardness, I looked down at my wrist and faked a convincing gasp. "Is it 6:07 _already_! Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I've got to go!"

Once I got in my car, I slammed on the gas. I prayed he hadn't noticed my "watch" was actually a thin, braided purple bracelet that Caroline made me as a friendship present.

But mostly I just prayed that I wouldn't have to see him any other time besides English.

**Review? :)**


	3. Curiosity

**Wow. Long time, no update. I am so sorry guys... I was going to make this longer, but it's already 1am for me, and I'm about to fall asleep as I type this, so I hope this is alright. I'll try to make the next chapter longer.**

* * *

_Curiosity _

_will never let me go_

_- Curiosity, Carly Rae Jepsen_

It had been almost three weeks since I had that god awful, embarrassing moment with Mr. Salvatore - er, Damon. Things had been getting better; I had joined the Denominators, ate lunch with Bonnie and her friends every day at school, and then told Caroline every evening the latest gossip of Mystic Falls High.

The one thing that wasn't getting better were my stories.

"Horrible!" my manager, Klaus Mikaelson, snapped as he slapped my report down on the table. "We need something interesting, Elena."

I looked down at my hands, intertwining my hands, my stomach doing the same. "I'm trying," I muttered.

"Try harder!"

"Hey, Klaus, calm down," Caroline said, walking into Klaus' office. She had a report of her own in one hand, a coffee in the other. "She's only been at Mystic Falls High for three weeks, she's going to need more time for a good story."

Klaus leaned back in his chair, glaring. "Fine, she does need more time. But she needs to quit hanging out with the nerd crew."

"What?" I screamed, then flushed. "I mean… they're my friends…"

Klaus smirked. "They're _good _people, however they don't have _good_ stories. We want the gossip, the secrets, the life of the popular kids."

I felt my flushed face start to turn pale as I thought of Rebekah and Katherine. "The popular kids and I… we don't exactly, um, get along."

"Well, um," Klaus mimicked, "start getting along with them, because that's how you're getting your story."

"What? No!" I shot a panicked look to Caroline, who was giving me in return a look of pity. "I can't… they won't accept me."

Klaus grinned as he grabbed a small slip of paper on his desk and handed it to me. "Remember Alaric? He's going to help you out."

I took the small piece of paper, frowning at the phone number. "Yeah, I remember him. How is he going to help me?"

* * *

"This is crazy!" I stated, shaking my head. "Crazy, I tell you. Never going to work."

Alaric laughed. We were in his van, which was filled with electronics and wires. A TV was turned on, currently showing the door of the van.

"This will work," Alaric insisted, fixing the small flower pin that was on my shirt. Inside of it was a small camera and a microphone, which was going to record everything I did during the day.

Apparently since I couldn't write a story good enough for Klaus, they decided to video tape everything I did so they could tell me what to write about. Insane, I know, but Alaric was excited that he was finally able to do something other than hand in job applications to people who weren't going to hire him. Klaus had asked Caroline to help him watch me, so Caroline was jumping up and down at how she was basically going to be able to watch a movie for work.

"You ready?" Alaric asked me, stepping back, a grin placed on his handsome face.

I took a deep breath then nodded, letting a smile spread across my face. "Yeah, I think I am."

Alaric opened the van door, then gestured for me to leave with one hand. "Have fun, Elena!" he called after me in a mocking tone.

* * *

"I hope everyone did their English essays," Damon Salvatore said as he shut the classroom door after the bell rang. He threw an amused grin at the class as students groaned and swore under their breaths. "Because it's due today."

I grabbed my pink binder out of my bag, flipped it open, and neatly took out my essay. I glanced around the classroom, seeing about only ten other people doing the same. The rest of the class either scrambled to write things on lined paper or pulled out their phones and started texting with careless expressions.

"Mr. Salvatore?" said a sickly sweet voice. Katherine had her tanned arm raised, an innocent smile planted on her foundation covered face.

Damon sighed, running a hand through his rumpled hair. His eyes, Elena realized, were threatening to close, and dark circles were marked heavily under them. "Damon, please."

"Damon," Katherine said in the same voice. "You see, I wasn't quite sure on what the assignment was… I was wondering if you could help me after school?"

I heard some people take in sharp breaths, some people giggle, but I just sat frozen in my seat. Could she be any more obvious?

Damon got the message loud and clear as well, and awkwardly scratched his head. "Uh, sure… Does anyone else need help?"

I wasn't really sure why I raised my hand and hid my essay. Maybe it was the desperation in his voice, maybe I thought it could make a good story, or maybe it was the knots forming in my stomach when I thought of the two together, alone. I didn't really care for the reason, and the relief on Damon's tired face made the knots in my stomach untwist.

"Okay, Elena and Katherine, after school today we'll go over essay."

I turned around in my seat to look at Katherine, then immediately turned back around. Her normally bitchy brown eyes had turned into a death glare that, let me tell you, was honestly more frightening than a horror movie.

"Now, onto today's lesson…."

* * *

"Hey, Elena," Bonnie said, catching up to me on my walk to the cafeteria.

"Oh, hey Bonnie," I responded, nervously biting my lip.

"You didn't show up for the Denominator meeting last night," she said, trying to keep with my long strides. "And I tried sending you a note in English, but you wouldn't look at me, or check your phone."

"Look, Bonnie," I said as we entered the cafeteria. I turned to face her and almost winced at her wide eyed innocence. "I just… don't really think the whole Denominator thing is me, you know?"

Bonnie looked like she was just slapped in the face, but quickly recovered. "Oh, okay… you're still going to eat lunch with us, right?"

I looked at the table full of Denominators, wearing matching green sweaters, then let my gaze shift to the popular table. "Um…"

But I didn't need to explain. Bonnie nodded curtly, her posture straightening and face cold. "Right. Okay. I saw this coming. I mean, you? You look like you just stepped out of a photo shoot, whereas I and the others… Nevermind. Bye, Elena."

I stood awestruck, mouth agape, as she walked away. I quickly walked over to join the line to get food, though, when a freshman bumped into me and asked if me I was having jaw problems and needed to see the school nurse.

Once I got my food, I slowly walked over to the popular table, then stopped. Should I start off smaller, with the less popular, then build my way up? Jumping right in might be bad, and Katherine already despised me.

Whatever. I'm 25 years old, I have a job, I have my own house. Sitting at a cafeteria table filled with obnoxious teenagers should be just like driving to work.

Bad comparison. I almost went through a red light yesterday and just barely missed hitting a cat.

But that wasn't the point. Maybe I didn't curl my hair to perfection everyday or paint my nails every other day, but that didn't mean I couldn't sit at a damn table.

I held my head up confidently and walked over with my tray of food. "Hey, guys!" I said, faking excitement and trying to not to look over at Bonnie.

The table grew silent as everyone turned to look at their new visitor; me. Katherine and Rebekah had their eyebrows raised, Stefan was attempting to hide a smile, and the others who I hadn't learned the names of were looking at Katherine and Rebekah, gauging their expressions then doing the same.

Dear God, this is embarrassing. I felt panic start to surge through me and I started to babble. "Katherine, I _love_ your shirt! It goes _so_ good with at that skirt! And your hair -totally compliments your earrings Where'd you get those, by the way?"

Everyone was still silent, watching Katherine. Katherine pressed her lips into a firm smile before answering. "Some store in Paris."

"Oh…"

Katherine smirked. "Your shirt is cute, Elena. Where'd you get it?"

I looked down at my shirt. It was a light pink scoop neck with a white, hand drawn looking heart in the center. Caroline had let me borrow it, saying everyone would love it.

"Um, not sure," I said, laughing lightly; nervously. "I borrowed it from my friend."

Katherine laughed and I couldn't tell if it was a mean one, because the second she did everyone joined in with her.

"So, Elena, there's this club, and _everyone_ is going there on Friday…"

* * *

"Almost thought you weren't going to show up," Damon said as I walked into the English room after school.

"Sorry," I sheepishly apologized, setting my bag down at a nearby desk. "I, uh, almost forget."

Which was a total lie. Once the bell signalled school was over, I rushed to the bathroom and called Caroline. She had already known, since she was watching my every move (creepy), and had helped me out with what I was going to do.

"Damon," Katherine said from the desk beside mine, batting her eyelashes, "I think I might need to stay longer than Elena. Essays and I don't exactly get along."

I almost blurted out, "You're disgusting!" to Katherine, but I kept my mouth shut as Damon ignored her and instead busied himself with organizing papers on his desk.

It was different to see him like this. I still remembered him 3 weeks ago - relaxed, charming, making _me _feel flustered and awkward. But here he was, feeling incredibly awkward from one of his students. I couldn't blame him, though, because Katherine was almost screaming "Sleep with me!" in front of everyone.

"So what didn't you get about the essay?" Damon asked, bringing a chair over to my and Katherine's desks.

"Well," Katherine said slowly, blinking innocently. "Everything."

* * *

It had been a torturous hour watching Katherine flirt with Damon, who would repeatedly bring the subject straight back to the essay. He was growing frustrated by the second, and I knew he was about to snap and tell her to back off.

"That's it," Damon finally said, leaning back against his chair. He was already so tired this morning; now he was even more so. "I think we covered everything there is to cover."

Katherine smiled, though I and I'm sure Damon could see right through it. "You're right," she said bitterly. "We did, and I know exactly what to do. Thanks." With that, Katherine spun around and left the classroom.

I awkwardly put my stuff away in my bag and then cleared my throat, capturing Damon's attention. "Er, thanks for um, helping me."

Damon gave me a smile tired. "Thank you, actually. I know you had the essay done."

I shrugged my shoulders, acting like it was no big deal. "I'll see you tomorrow, Damon."

Damon nodded. "Bye, Elena."

* * *

**I hope that was good. I used a lot of line breaks, I know. There's also probably still a few mistakes, because only I edited this, and usually my sister does. **

**Anyway, I wanted to get this up right after I finished writing it. :) **

**Review?**


	4. Saviour

**Wow, it's almost been two weeks since I last updated... I'm so sorry, the past two weeks have kind of been rough and, well, horrible. BUT HERE IS CHAPTER FOUR! :)**

**Also, I forgot to mention in the last chapter that I changed my username from Kimberkids to damonsalvat0re. Whoops. :P**

* * *

_Salvatore; as in saviour._

Today was probably the weirdest day ever.

It started out in English. I had arrived a bit early, only a few other people were in class. Damon was at his desk, twirling a pen between his fingers as he graded some papers. I, myself, was at my own desk, randomly doodling on the corner of my binder, completely bored.

"Hey, Elena," Katherine had greeted, an actual sincere smile on her face. (Which still looked a bit mean, but hey, it's Katherine.)

"Um, hey Katherine," I had said back, a bit shakily. I had leaned over in my chair to look around Katherine and at Rebekah, who stood behind her friend in boredom. "Rebekah."

Rebekah had thrown me a forced smile before staring at Damon again.

"So, you're like, eating lunch with us today? Right?" Katherine had asked, her red nails lightly tapping on my desk.

"Uh, yeah! If that's alright!"

Katherine's sincere smile grew and she nodded. "Perfect."

Now I was sitting at the populars' lunch table, laughing a bit too much and talking too fast, but they didn't seem to mind. In fact, they laughed at _every_ joke I said. _Any_ joke _any_ of them said. It was as if once you're in, you're guaranteed to be seen as a freaking comedian.

"So, Elena, you're going to the club on Friday, right?" Katherine asked. Everyone instantly got quiet and looked at me.

I remembered someone telling me about it yesterday. They had described it as the best in town - which didn't really mean much, since it was probably the only one in this small town.

"Sure," I said, smiling. "Who else is going?"

Everyone cheered yes, causing a scene, but they didn't care. When everyone turned around at their tables to look at us, no one even glanced back. The usually cranky cafeteria supervisor didn't come over and snap at us for being too loud.

It was strange, but I was liking this whole popular thing, and maybe just a bit _too_ much.

* * *

"Come on Elena!" Caroline pouted like a little girl. "Why can't I come? You _know_ I love clubs!"

"You know why you can't come," I said as I applied a second coat mascara to my eyelashes. I fluttered them afterwards, hating the feeling of heaviness.

Caroline rolled her eyes before collapsing down onto my bed. "Because I'll 'get in the way of your job,'" she mimicked me.

I threw a hairbrush at her, and she rolled to the side, dodging it. "I do _not_ sound like that!"

"Sure," she mumbled, before jumping up and walking out of my bedroom. "I'm going home now," she called out to me, her voice fading as she walked further away.

I sighed, putting down the tube of lip gloss. Makeup was _so_ much work. My face was covered in foundation, my eyes looked about two times bigger, and my lips were unnaturally sparkling. The only thing that kept me from running to the bathroom and jumping into the shower to wash it off was the thought of me publishing the best report ever in history of Mystic Falls.

So instead I drove to the club, my fake id in the cute little purse Caroline helped me pick out earlier today. My black dress only went about halfway down my thighs and was scratchy as hell, and when I walked up to the club entrance I felt extremely uncomfortable.

The music was annoyingly high, the bass turned up so much that I felt like I was vibrating as I stumbled over to a bar stool.

"Hey, you made it!" someone shouted in my ear.

"Oh, hey Katherine," I said and smiled at her.

Katherine leaned in even closer than she already was to me. "What?"

"Hey!" I said louder.

Katherine grinned at me and grabbed my hand. "Lets go dance, hun."

Dance? Oh no. I started pulling backwards, muttering something about not being able to dance, but Katherine was yanking on my arm, pulling me towards the big crowd of teenagers and young adults dancing. Once we were in the middle and basically _suffocating,_ she loosely wrapped her arms around some random guy and started swaying her hips, singing along with the upbeat song. I looked around to see others doing the same.

Well, here goes nothing.

I turned around and did the same as Katherine, except I had my eyes closed so I wouldn't have to see myself being embarrassed. When I felt no resistance and a pair of someone's own hands lightly holding my hips, I opened my eyes and almost gasped.

"Stefan!"

Stefan flashed me a grin. "Hey."

"What are you doing here?"

"I said I was going, didn't I?"

I blushed, looking down. "Oh. Right."

"So what do you think of this club? Pretty awesome, eh?" Stefan asked after a few moments of awkward staring.

"Oh, yeah," I nodded. "Definitely. Such pretty lights, too!"

Stefan chuckled when I blushed again at my words. "Sorry," I said apologetically. "I've never really done anything like this before…"

"It's fine. Hey, I'm going to get a drink. Want one too?"

"Sure." I smiled at him and held his hand as he navigated us out of the mob of people. Soon we were both seated on a couch in the corner of the club with drinks, where the music wasn't as loud and more privacy was provided.

"You know, you have really nice eyes," Stefan said, leaning in closer to me.

"Oh, um." I bit my lip and looked down, a bad habit of mine. "Thanks."

"You're really beautiful. Has anyone ever told you that?" He was closer now; no distance were between us on the couch.

I squeezed my eyes shut when I felt his breath on my neck and his nose brush my ear. "Stefan please don't!" I blurted out.

I couldn't hear him sigh, though I know he did. He ran a hand through his rumpled hair before letting it run down his face. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." I looked away, desperate to find a distraction. I looked up at the balcony that was around the entire club, searching for a familiar face.

I saw Damon looking right at me and Stefan, shaking his head in disappointment. It took me a few seconds to remember that he and Stefan were cousins.

"I'm going to get some fresh air," I told Stefan before jumping up and walking up to the stairs that led to the balcony.

"Hey," I said when I reached Damon. I wasn't really sure why I went to him, but everything about this place was uncomfortable and I knew if I was near him I wouldn't find myself in trouble.

Damon was leaning against the railing, a drink in his hand. "This doesn't seem like your type of place."

I leaned against the railing too, feeling like I was going to break out in a sweat soon if air turned any more humid and stuffy. I shrugged my shoulders. "Doesn't seem like your type of place, either."

"Oh, yeah?"

I nodded, watching as Stefan danced with Katherine. "You're a teacher."

Damon laughed. "Trust me, if I could find somewhere else where I'm not surrounded by my students getting drunk, I would go there. But Mystic Falls is a small town, we're stuck with what we got."

I nodded my head yet again in understanding. "Ah. You here with anyone?"

I turned to look at him to see him nodding. "Yeah, I'm here with my girlfriend."

I'm not really sure why I didn't like the idea of him having a girlfriend; I just didn't. If someone asked me why, I wouldn't be able to give them a single reason why. "That's cool. Where is she?"

Damon smirked. "She's in the bathroom - she hates these type of places."

"Don't blame her," I mumbled. We both fell quiet, just staring out at the dancing crowd on the floor below us.

"Damon!" a girly voice exclaimed.

"Andie." Damon smiled and wrapped his arm around the girl with a slim waist. "This is Elena, a student of mine."

Andie smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. She stuck out her hand and we shook hands.

"Nice to meet you," she said.

I smiled softly. "Nice meeting you, too."

Andie turned to Damon. "Damon, can we please go home now? My head is _pounding_ from a headache and I have to wake up early tomorrow for work."

Damon sighed, before throwing me an almost apologetic look. "Fine. Bye, Elena."

"Bye."

* * *

"Mind if I sit with you guys?" I asked the four teenage boys who were lounging on the couch Stefan and I had been on before. All the other couches were filled.

The one guy smiled lazily, scooting over. "No, we don't mind at all. Do we?"

The three other guys all agreed, the same smile planted on their faces too.

"Oh, thanks." I grinned at them all.

"What's your name?" the guy beside me asked.

"Elena, you?"

"I'm Josh. Hey, Elena, we have a special cake for you," Josh said.

My eyes lit up when I saw the piece of chocolate cake he was holding. "For me?"

Josh grinned. "For you."

"Thank you!" I took the cake from him, my mood instantly going up from the fact that these four guys were being incredibly generous to me. "Mmm!"

Josh chuckled. "Tasty?"

"Yes!"

* * *

"And then, and then…" I was running out of breath from laughing so hard, and I struggled to speak without breaking into another fit of giggles. "She said… firecrackers!"

Josh laughed with me. "Firecrackers?"

"Yeah! Hey, wanna dance?" I asked, excitement starting to bubble over.

"No, I'm fine. But you go on dance, okay?"

I nodded, then turned around and starting dancing to the dance floor. Once I reached where everyone was, I started spinning in circles.

"Woo!" I shouted, laughing, as I slid down into the splits. Everyone cheered and I proudly grinned at them all.

When I got back up, everyone made a small circle for me to dance inside of. I was doing it; I was being cool! Except then I started feeling light headed and dizzy, and I started stumbling. "Shit," I muttered when I tripped over my own feet.

"Hey," someone whispered into my ear before helping me up. "You need to go home."

I looked at my saviour to see it was Damon, his hand gently on my back, guiding me out of the club. "I don't want to leave," I said stubbornly when we stopped in front of his car.

Damon chuckled. "Oh, Elena, you need to go home."

I crossed my arms across my chest. "No."

"Elena…"

"I don't want to go home! I'm having fun!"

"Oh, for god's sake…" Damon glanced around like someone was going to suddenly appear and help him. "Elena, your drunk. You need to get home."

I gasped. "I am _not _drunk! How dare you accuse me of drinking!"

Damon rose his eyebrows at me.

"What? I didn't drink at all, only a bit of the bottle of coke that _I_ opened," I said.

Damon ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes. He opened them and looked at me straight in the eye. "Did you eat anything?"

"No, I -" I started, then cut off. "Well, yeah, I did. Josh, a very nice man, offered me a piece of… Oh. Special cake."

Damon sighed. "Great. So you're high."

"I am not!"

"In the car, Elena."

I looked around in the parking lot before pointing at my car. "I drove my own car here."

"Then I'll get my friend to drive it to your place while _I_ drive you. There's no way you should be driving right now, Elena," Damon said sternly.

"And how can I trust you, hmm? I shouldn't be getting in cars with strange guys!" I told him.

Damon chuckled again before opening the passenger door. "I'm not a strange guy, Elena. I'm your teacher. Now get in and stay in, I'm going to find my friend."

"Fine," I grumbled, handing him my keys to his outstretched hand.

* * *

"Are your parents home?" Damon asked as we pulled up into my driveway.

"Uh, no." I was starting to feel more normal now, which created awkwardness as I remembered the past events. "Thanks, Damon."

He smiled at me. "No problem, Elena. Just… don't do that again, alright?"

I nodded, watching as he backed out and my car came in. A girl in her early twenties stepped out and handed me my keys.

"Thanks," I told her, and she offered me a friendly smile before going into Damon's car.

"Hey, Damon," I called out to him before he could leave.

"Yeah?"

"Why did you come back?" I asked. "To the club."

He shrugged. "I took Andie home and all she wanted to do was sleep, so I decided to come back. Good thing I did, right?"

"Yeah," I said softly. "Good thing you did."

* * *

**Review please? :)**


	5. Shiny Celebrity Skin

**I'll be honest, I'm actually surprised I have this done already. I've been pretty busy over the holidays, so this being up already makes me happy. :) Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays!**

* * *

_Trading in who I've been for shiny celebrity skin _

_- Celebrity Status by Marianas Trench_

"So," Caroline said, setting her coffee down on the Mystic Grill table as she leaned in, her elbows on the table. "Tell me again from the beginning with every damn detail. And," she added quickly before I could protest, "I mean _every _detail. You're a writer, you're good at things like this."

I sighed, slumping in the booth seat across from her. "Care, I did tell you every detail. Now please, last night is not something I want to think about. _Way_ too embarrassing."

Caroline grumbled something under her breath about me being "no fun", but I just rolled my eyes.

"Hey, Elena and Caroline," my brother greeted with tired eyes. His name tag was crooked and he kept rubbing his eyes. "What can I get for you two today?"

"Hey, Jer," Caroline said chirpily, smiling. "I'll have the usual; scrambled eggs with bacon, please."

Jeremy scribbled the order down on the paper before turning to me. "And you?"

I tilted my head to the side. "How much sleep did you get last night, Jeremy? You look exhausted."

He shrugged. "Late shift last night."

"Jeremy," I said softly, reaching out for one of his hands. "You really shouldn't be working so much. It's only 9 in the morning and you just had a shift that ended at what, 12am?"

Jeremy took his hand away sharply. "I'm 23 years old, Elena. I can take care of myself. Now, _what do you want?_"

I winced, biting my lip. "Same as Caroline."

"Whoa," Caroline mumbled, watching as Jeremy coolly turned around and walked away. "What's up with him?"

"I have no clue," I admitted quietly. It's not that Jeremy never had anger issues - in high school he had to see a counsellor about it. It was that he had _never_ snapped at her. With her, he was always laid back and carefree. That sudden outburst had been very unexpected.

"Anyway," Caroline continued on, changing the subject, "spill. I know there are more details."

* * *

It was three o'clock in the afternoon and I had just gotten home from shopping with Caroline. I threw the three bags full of in style clothing onto my bedroom floor and collapsed on my bed. My feet were sore and tense, my head was pounding from the annoying pop music that was played in every store Caroline had dragged me into, and my hair was in a tangled mess from trying on tons of different shirts.

My phone ringing was the last thing I wanted to hear.

"Hello?" I asked, tiredly, as I pressed the answer button my phone.

"Hey, Elena." It was Katherine's sickly sweet voice that was coming from the other end of the line.

"Oh, Katherine. Hey."

"A bunch of us are heading to the Court tonight. Wanna join?" she asked.

"Hmm?" I mumbled, changing positions on my phone. "The Court?"

"Oh," Katherine said, laughing. "Forgot that you're new. It's an old drive in that we hang out at; coolest place."

My eyebrows came together and I blinked, confused, though she couldn't see me. "I thought the club we went to yesterday was the coolest place ever?"

Katherine laughed again, obviously amused by my unknowing. "We only go the club on Fridays, hun. Now are you in or are you in?"

I glanced at my aching feet that begged me to say no. "Yes."

"Great. I'll pick you up at 8." After that, Katherine ended the call.

"Fantastic," I muttered with a sigh, putting my phone down on my nightstand. I closed my eyes, allowing myself a few seconds of rest.

But it wasn't a few seconds of rest. When I opened my eyes and threw a quick glance over at my alarm clock, the numbers 7:26 flashed at me. I jumped up and ran into the bathroom, scrambling to make myself look presentable.

"Caroline!" I yelled in joy as Caroline answered her phone.

"Uh, hey there Elena," Caroline said in amusement. "Long time no see, eh?"

"I need your help," I said, ignoring what she had said. "I'm going to The Court - some place people go to hang out at and I have no clue what to wear."

I could almost hear the roll of my best friends eyes. "Just wear something slutty. Always a good plan."

"But… but it's almost the end of October!" I complained.

Caroline chuckled. "Sorry, hun. But you're with the popular crowd now and they don't give a shit about that."

I sighed, looking at my long sleeve shirt that was soon going to be taken off and replaced with something ten times less comfy and warm. "Right. Okay."

"You should wear the new outfit you bought today," Caroline suggested, though it sounded more like a demand. "The sparkly black top one."

I nodded then remembered she couldn't see me. "Okay. Thanks, Care."

"No problem. Now I got to go, Tyler's picking me up any minute."

I rose my eyebrows in surprise. "You guys are going on a date?"

"Yeah," Caroline said sheepishly. "Thought I'd give him a try… he seems nice, right?"

"Totally." I smiled. "Bye, Caroline."

"Bye."

It was a few minutes after eight when Katherine rang the door bell. I had just finished getting ready and when I opened the door, Katherine stood in front of me, wearing the same shirt.

"Oh," I said awkwardly, looking down at my shoes. "Um, hey."

Katherine laughed. "Come on, it's no big deal. We can be twins for the night."

I laughed along with her, following her to her car. It was black and sleek, obviously expensive. When I slid into the leather passenger seat, Katherine immediately started speeding. She turned the already loud music up when a break up song came on, yelling "I love this song!"

"It's good!" I yelled back at her, though I had no clue what it was or what the singer was rambling on about.

The ride was only about 10 minutes long, and as we started to slow down and turn into a parking lot, Katherine turned the volume down. "We're here!"

I stumbled out of the car, still a bit shaken up from the blaring music. Katherine did a small wave at me that signalled for me to follow her, and she lead us to a large crowd of people.

"Elena!" a girl who I didn't know the name of shouted, grabbing my hand. "So glad you made it."

"Um." I looked over my shoulder at Katherine, who was staring at the strange girl and me in amusement. "I'm glad I could make it too?"

The petite girl with flaming red hair beamed up at me. She dragged me over to the burning bonfire where people sat around it, drinking from beer bottles and laughing loudly. We sat down in two empty chairs and the girl immediately started babbling on.

"Er, sorry," I interrupted after about five minutes of her storytelling. "What's your name?"

The girl's shoulders slumped and she looked at the fire in hurt. She opened her mouth to answer when Katherine answered for her. "Elena, this is Kristen." Katherine then lowered her voice to a whisper that was loud enough for Kristen to hear as she said, "A huge wannabe since grade 7."

Kristen looked away before getting up. "Sorry, I got to go," she mumbled, before leaving with a few tears already streaming down her face.

I was left standing agape, listening to Katherine giggle and watching Kristen stumble her way away from us.

I wanted to slap the smirk off of Katherine's face; wanted to run after Kristen and tell her to never listen to Katherine ever again, but I stayed paralysed in my spot. I needed more information about The Court for my new story I had planned to write.

* * *

It was about 11 o 'clock when I called it a night to my new made fake friends. Katherine was still intent on staying, so Stefan offered to drive me home.

"Thanks," I said to him when he opened the passenger side door for me.

Stefan nodded and smiled at me before going over to the driver side. He started the engine then turned to me. "Oh, I hope you don't mind, but I have to pick up my cousin. He's just a few minutes away."

"That's fine." I said back, leaning against the seat. Then I sat up straight in realization. "Cousin as in…"

Stefan grinned. "Yeah, it's Damon. I hope it won't make you awkward or anything since he's our teacher, but he let me borrow his car as long as I picked him up…"

"It's fine," I said, repeating myself with a wave of my hand. "He's cool."

Stefan looked at me before quickly focusing on driving again. "Oh yeah?"

I shrugged, feeling awkward. "Yeah." I felt my cheeks turn red as I remember the previous night. "Not like most teachers."

Stefan grinned. "Probably because he isn't like most teachers. Still likes to act like a rebellious teenager."

I rose an eyebrow before laughing. "Rebellious teenager?"

Stefan's grin grew as he joined in on the laughter. "I probably shouldn't be telling you this… don't want you lose respect for him," he said, though he was still laughing.

"Nah," I reassured him, "no respect lost from me."

"Good," Stefan said, before pulling into the Mystic Grill parking lot. He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Damon.

About a minute later Damon and Andie exited the Mystic Grill and headed towards us. "Oh, right," Stefan said, "that's Andie, Damon's girlfriend."

"Yeah, I know," I said without thinking.

"You guys met?"

"Well, uh, yeah, sort of," I mumbled awkwardly. I turned my attention to the car that sat parked beside us, pretending to be fantasized by it as Damon and Andie got in the car.

"I'm just driving Elena home," Stefan informed the newly arrived as he drove out of the parking lot.

I looked in the mirror at Damon to see him nod. He was holding hands with Andie while she leaned onto his shoulder, mumbling something to him. He grinned at her and the two continued on talking in low voices to each other.

Stefan turned up the volume when he saw my face, saving us from a bit of the awkwardness. He started a conversation with us all, talking about how "lovely the weather's been" and that "wow, did you hear about how Mrs. Smith is pregnant?"

Finally the awkward ride was over. Stefan pulled into my driveway and I nearly leaped out of the car. "Thanks!" I said hurriedly before closing the car door and practically running towards my front door.

"Wait, Elena!" Stefan called out to me. I froze, slowly turning around. "You forgot your cellphone."

I sighed, quickly walking back and retrieving it. "Thanks again."

"No problem," Stefan said. "See you Monday."

"Right." I nodded. "See you Monday, Stefan… Damon."

Damon smirked at me. "Did you finish your homework?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, I did."

Stefan glared at me and his cousin. "Am I the only one who didn't understand a single thing on the sheet?"

"Well, maybe if you paid attention," Damon mocked as Andie laughed.

"I could help you," I offered.

Stefan looked surprised. "Really?"

I awkwardly scratched my head. "Yeah, I mean, if you want me too…"

The surprise was replaced with a smile. "Definitely. I'll call you tomorrow?"

I nodded. "Sounds good."

* * *

**It's short, I know. I wanted to write more but I felt like this was the end of the chapter. **

**Review? :)**


	6. Falling For Your Eyes

**Hey guys! Sorry for the late update - I had exams this previous week, and the two weeks before that I had tons of projects and stuff due. But now all that stuff is done, so the updates will be regular again! :) Also, I changed the story cover because I wasn't really a fan of the old one and the old one had my old username on it. :P**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, because I really enjoyed writing it :) **

* * *

_I'm falling for your eyes_**,**

_but they don't know me yet._

_- Kiss me, Ed Sheeran._

It was Sunday night. Katherine lazily flipped through the new magazine she bought, not really reading anything. She was bored and tired and desperate for some new gossip.

Her phone rang, and without looking she reached out to grab it. She pressed the answer button and said, "Hey, 'Bekah."

"You'll _never_ believe what I just heard," her friend since kindergarten told her, excitement pouring into her voice.

Katherine sat up on her bed, letting the magazine fall off her lap. "Gossip? For me?" Her lips twisted into a greedy smile. "Do tell."

"According to some freshman who lives next Stefan, our little friend _Elena Holt_ spent the afternoon at the Stefan's."

Katherine laughed, excitement of her own surging through her. "Not just at Stefan's, Rebekah. Damon lives with him too."

"Oh. You think Damon wouldn't have let anything happen between Stefan and Elena?" Katherine could tell Rebekah was frowning over this, disappointed.

"No, _I_ think Elena didn't go over to see Stefan."

"But… that doesn't make sense. Why else would she go over?"

Katherine rolled her eyes. "How the hell are you passing any of your classes? She went over to see Damon, obviously. And I mean that in a way that involves no innocent scenarios."

* * *

It was Monday morning and the last thing I wanted to do was get out of bed. In fact, my comfy bed with my extra warm blanket was begging me not to leave. Even my alarm clock forgot to go off, which had to be a sign. But, unfortunately, I had to go to school.

As I quickly jumped into the shower, I recalled the events of yesterday. Stefan called me at 2 and asked if I had wanted to go over to look over our English homework and I, glad for an excuse that got me out of housework, gratefully accepted the invitation.

And, okay, I'll admit I had fun. Since Stefan's dad was always on business trips, it was usually only Stefan and Damon (who lived with Stefan because of a reason I wasn't to sure of), which was very obvious from the lack of housework they did (which later Sunday night motivated me to clean my house). Going over our English homework was fairly quick; either Stefan was a fast learner or he was exaggerating when he said he didn't get it. After that, we had hung out and watched TV, chatting like we were old friends.

The thought of hanging out with him was preoccupying my mind as I got ready. It wasn't that I had a _crush_ on him, because that would've been pretty gross of me, but he was nice to talk to. And funny. And smart.

And maybe if he _was_ older there would be a possible chance that we could get together because of his sweet personality.

But other than that, I wasn't interested in him that way. It was kind of hard to be when his older cousin was like God's masterpiece, especially when he walked into the kitchen with only a towel wrapped around his waist, wet hair clinging to his perfectly sculpted face and chest…

Scared of where my thoughts were leading to, I quickly turned on my car radio. Okay. Not good to fantasize about your overly handsome English teacher. Especially naked, which I _wasn't _going to do…

Pulling into the school parking lot, I saw Bonnie. She had her head down as she quickly ran to the front doors, clutching her books tight to her chest. She looked like a cliché movie nerd and I envied her; envied how she wasn't forced to hang out with the stuck up kids I had to hang out with.

Sighing, I fixed the flower pin that was on my shirt. It gave me the courage to open my car door and walk to English class, something I was dreading and at the same time anticipating.

(Nothing that had to with the teacher, of course. I promise… Sort of.)

When I sat down at my desk, Katherine and Rebekah strolled over to me. "Hey, Elena," Katherine greeted sweetly, sitting down beside me.

Despite her sweet voice, something about how she was looking at me seemed… evil, almost. Nervously, I replied, "Hey, Katherine, Rebekah."

"I heard you were at _Stefan's_ yesterday," Katherine said causally.

I gulped. I knew that Stefan was most likely her ex, I just figured it was never anything serious. But Katherine was looking at me mischievously and my stomach, always the traitor, decided to twist into knots.

"I was… I was just helping him with his English homework," I said, with a bit of a defensive edge.

Katherine's eyes practically glowed. "That's his best subject, hun."

My eyes widened. Stefan _and_ Damon led me on to think otherwise! I wasn't sure if I felt betrayed that they both lied or flattered that Stefan made up an excuse to hang out with me.

"Well, that's not what he told me."

Katherine rolled her eyes. "Obviously." Then, as she was walking away, she turned back around. "Rebekah and I are going shopping after school. Want to join?"

My head was going to get a headache from Katherine's moodswings. One moment she's acting all mysterious and intimidating and then the next it's like we're the best of friends. "Sure," I told her, though I inwardly groaned.

As the day dragged on, I just really wanted to go back to my warm, comfy bed with a bag of chips, can of pop and watch reruns of my favourite old shows. But I couldn't, so I sucked it up and tried to keep the embarrassing moments to a minimum so my coworkers weren't able to make fun of me.

Which was pretty hard, since half the time I forgot about the flower pin with hidden camera and microphone.

Anyway, I was walking towards my locker to grab my things before leaving to go shopping with Katherine and Rebekah. I was running late since I had to stay behind in art class to go over the new assignment that was due in a week, so the halls were almost empty. My locker was right across from where I had English, my homeroom, and I could see Damon packing up to leave.

I turned my back to him and unlocked my locker. I still remembered yesterday a bit too clearly.

* * *

"_Can I get you anything to drink?" Stefan asked as soon as I sat down at his kitchen table. _

"_Uh, sure. A water would be nice," I said, smiling. He returned the smile before saying he'd back, leaving the kitchen. _

_I grabbed my backpack, which I had brought along with me. I took out the English sheet we had for homework, then tapped my pen against the wooden table, waiting. _

_Then in walked Damon._

_I guess he wasn't told that I was over, because only a towel was wrapped around his waist. He didn't even notice me until he closed the fridge, a dish of leftovers in his hands. By then my face was burning red as I tried to keep my eyes locked on my hands, which moved from tapping my pen to sitting on my lap._

_I didn't think things could get more awkward, but Stefan chose that moment to return with two water bottles in his hands, saying "Sorry I took so long, the water was… Oh."_

_I swear it was almost two minutes before any of us talked._

"_I'll, um, go now," Damon finally said, breaking the deafening silence. He left the kitchen with the plate of cold leftovers._

"_Sorry about that." Stefan looked sheepish as he handed me my water bottle. "I kind of forgot to tell him you were coming over."_

"_It's fine," I forced out._

_Stefan scratched his head. "I didn't even tell you he lives with me. I suck, don't I?"_

"_No!" I said too quickly. "It's fine, really."_

"_Elena, you just saw your English teacher with only a towel on. That 'fine' I know is more of a 'forever horrified' thing."_

_Actually, the only horrifying thing was that it was completely embarrassing. Other than that…_

* * *

"Elena?"

I snapped out of my mini flashback. See? I remembered it _too_ clearly. I quickly put all my binders in my bag before turning around to see Damon. "Hey."

"Do you mind if I talk to you for a few minutes?" he asked, opening the classroom door more.

"Not at all." I walked into the classroom, thinking about how Katherine and Rebekah were going to kill me for being late.

Damon made his way over to his desk. He shuffled around some papers before finding the one that satisfied him. He handed it to me.

I looked down at it. It was my essay that I handed in last week. A big red "A" was circled on the page, with a scribbled "great job!" beside it.

"That essay was extremely good," Damon said. He was leaning against his desk, arms folded across his chest. He was looking at me with… admiration? No, that couldn't be it. Though it _did_ look like that…

"Thank you," I said. I'm not going to lie - that compliment did mean quite a bit to me. Except, of course, I was a 25 year old who already went to university and has done loads of essays, so obviously I was going to better at writing them than the average high school student.

He was studying me, I could tell. His look of admiration had changed to curiosity; his head was tilted more to the side, examining me. "You're not like most 17 year olds, you know." He moved towards me.

I gulped. This was it. The end of my career. The end of my life. He was going to tell everyone that I was really 25 and I would end up homeless and my family would never visit me and Jeremy would hate me and I would -

"Remember that. It's a good thing."

Oh.

Damon smiled before putting on his leather jacket and grabbing his stuff. "I'll see you tomorrow, Elena."

* * *

"Where were you?" Katherine demanded when I reached her and Rebekah. They were standing in front of Katherine's car looking severely pissed. "We've been waiting for almost twenty minutes!"

"I needed help on something, so I had to stay behind," I told them. It wasn't really a lie - I did need help on my art, but that wasn't the only thing that held me up.

Katherine's expression changed. "Oh? On… English?"

I frowned, confused about her reaction. "Art, actually."

It was her turn to frown. "Oh. Come on, lets go now. I need to buy something for my date with Mason this Friday."

I got into the back of her car, watching as Rebekah gave her friend a look of disgust. "Mason? You agreed to go on a date with _him_?"

Katherine shrugged as she drove out of the parking lot. "Gotta give the guy a chance. Speaking of guys…" Katherine threw a quick look over at me, grinning. "Any of them catch your eye, 'Lena?"

Rebekah was watching me, grinning. I looked down at my hands. "Not really…"

Rebekah's grin grew. "Come on, Elena. You can tell us."

"I swear, there's no one…"

"Not even Stefan?" Katherine questioned casually.

I didn't know what to say, so I settled on saying, "He's cute."

"Do you prefer older guys?"

I could feel my face pale and my eyes go slightly wide. "Um… no?"

"It's okay if you do," Katherine said, and even though she wasn't facing me I knew a smirk was planted on her face.

"But I don't," I said more firmly. It helped that this wasn't too much of a lie - technically, Damon wasn't that much older than me. Which doesn't matter because I _don't_ like him.

Rebekah sighed, sitting normally in her seat now and mumbling something about how the fun was now ruined.

I sighed in relief.

* * *

**Short, I know... I'm not really good at making long chapters, am I? :P Review? :)**


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